This relates to a method and apparatus for determining the health of an individual.
Chinese Medicine concepts and practices originated long before the onset of the modern fields of anatomy, physiology, surgery and other invasive diagnostic and healing techniques. Root-cause diagnosis of the illness is based on observations of the exogenous physical symptoms, such as the temperature, the facial appearance, perspiration, the heart-beat, breathing and the pulse rate patterns. Practitioners of Chinese Medicine combine these observations and knowledge accumulated through studies and practical experiences to locate the source and determine the causes of abnormality.
Definition and terminology for the anatomical organs according to Chinese Medicine differ from those in the modern physiology even though the domain of the overall coverage is the same. For example, the term heart is understood to include the heart, as is in the modem anatomy, and the auxiliary vascular and neuro-network systems. Since the heart cannot function without the support of its auxiliary systems Chinese Medicine implicitly recognizes the potential correlation of pathology of the anatomical heart and that of its auxiliary support systems.
It is also a Chinese Medicine concept that communications among the various organs are channeled through a complex network of Jing Lo. A person is expected to be in good physical health when communications flow unimpeded in Jing Lo, whereas a blocked or congested Jing Lo signifies ailment. Interconnectivity via the Jing Lo network implies that ailment in a given organ can and usually does involve multiple others.
According to the modem notions of anatomy, the human body can be said to comprise the skeletal frame with the attached muscle masses for movement and for mechanical support for other more localized organ systems, such as the digestive system, the respiratory system, the reproductive system and the urinary system. Interconnecting these localized systems are the cardiovascular system for the internal transport of blood, oxygen, and carbon dioxide, the endocrine system for integration and coordination of hormones, the lymphatic system for immunal regulation, and the nervous system for electrochemical signaling.
Although Jing Lo has not been identified with a definitive set of physical constituents in the human body, it is nonetheless reasonable to consider it as a virtual network of media capable of channeling signals between, and facilitating communications among organs.
The physics, particularly the electrical characteristics of several of the plausible constituents for this virtual network including the blood vassals, the nerves, the bones and the muscle masses have been extensively studied and modeled. For example, it is well known to nutritionists that the electrical equivalent for the muscle mass is a complex reactive network of resistance and capacitance, and that the electrical conductivity of blood is akin to a simple conductor with conductivity linear with the red cell counts. The fact that the muscle reactance can change with the ionic contents of its surrounding environment is also well known to physiologists that study narcosis. Animal studies have revealed that both for large and small animals the electrical impedance of the bone can be characterized by a simple network of resistors and capacitors.
Modeling of the electrical characteristics of the human cardiovascular system against known EKG data in the low frequency range of 120 Hz or below also exists in the literature. In the higher frequency domain up to 1 kHz, EKG (more commonly referred to as High Frequency Electrocardiography) studies seeking link it to better detection of Myocardial Ischemia and other coronary artery diseases is a hot research topic. However, we are not aware of any systematic electrical impedance information in the higher frequency ranges, regarding the cardiovascular network, nor the neural networks that interconnect multiple organs.
The physics of signal transmission in a single neuron takes on the characteristics of a complex electrical circuit with interesting features such as switching, tuning, and even resonances. Proper characterization of the neural network related to a given organ, and by inference, that portion of the Jing Lo system requires the analysis of its impedance spectra.
Chinese Medicine generally holds that Jing Lo evidences itself on the surface of the human body. These are referred to as the termination points. In fact, according to several schools of practitioners, a large collection of these termination points are present on the palm. For example, Jing Lo connected to the stomach terminates at the center of the palm whereas the heart evidences itself at the intersection of the backward extension of the thumb and the forefinger of the palm. The lungs are at the base of the fourth finger and the pinky. A correspondingly detailed map is believed to hold with foot hosting these Jing Lo termination points. The state of an individual's physical health can thus be gleaned via these termination points.
Since communications among all organs are channeled through the same Jing Lo network impedance spectra from a multitude of points on the human body will be needed in order to deduce information from any given organ. Put it another way. If one measures the impedance spectrum from a single termination point or a cluster of termination points in close proximity to a particular organ system, information one can glean from the data may be mostly from that particular organ system with minor interference or contamination from others. Such is the case with EKG or the EEG technologies. To eliminate superfluous or even misleading evidence due to mutual informational interference and distortion from other linked organ systems, a methodology and an apparatus is needed to collect data from a multitude of termination points for a multi-channel spectral analysis. Such is the intention and purpose of this patent disclosure.